Chapter 493: Side Story 13 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy
Though still beyond the range of perception for ordinary hearing, it was different for the masters present.
Countless people were converging toward this place.
“Are you insane?”
Baek Sang-ah shot Eungnyong a disgusted glare.
“Do you really believe you can bind us here with mere troops?”
“I believe it is possible.”
Eungnyong nodded nonchalantly.
“Because your levels have yet to shed their shell.”
Flinch!
They had yet to shed their shell.
Eungnyong’s words were not a metaphor.
“Of course, with your unique capabilities, you can certainly contend on equal footing with opponents of higher level.”
However.
“That doesn’t mean you’ve surpassed your limits. It’s only in short-term engagements—ultimately, you’re bound to show limits in stamina, endurance, and sustainability.”
“……”
“Using sheer numbers against you is by no means a foolish tactic.”
Just as he said, they were indeed prey completely trapped in the enemy’s hunting ground.
“Do you believe you’ll be able to maintain your forces without consequence after making such a sacrificial move?”
“Of course not.”
“But you lot came to us with hostile intent, and since you failed to leave in peace, we have no choice either. Above all else…”
He paused for a moment before asking,
“If we said we’d let you go peacefully right now, would you really turn back?”
Baek Sang-ah shook her head with a faint smile.
“Of course not.”
There was no doubt that the current situation was a crisis.
But conversely, if they failed to kill them now, those enemies would surely disappear into hiding, waiting for the right moment—even if it took a hundred or a thousand years.
Now that they had revealed their malicious intent to replace the Heaven-Defying Society, they had to be killed here at all costs.
The times may favor humanity, but lifespan favored them.
“That’s right. Since both sides have shown their hands, all that’s left is to see whose cards are stronger.”
The figures of the three, including Eungnyong, began to float gently into the air.
“I’ll be waiting in the emperor’s court. I do hope you can make it there.”
“Like hell!”
If they were to be captured, it had to be here and now! There was no way to let them retreat while putting on airs!
Heavenly Wolf Sacred Sword Style
Moon-Eating Slash
The two swords flew in an arc as sharp as a tiger’s fangs.
But—
Flash!
Qilin effortlessly nullified Baek Sang-ah’s strike with a surge of blue lightning!
And just as So Cheon was about to move—
“Leave them be!”
Baek Sang-ah suddenly shouted at So Cheon.
At her rebuke, So Cheon flinched but obediently stopped.
Before long, the three figures vanished from the scene.
“Keuk keuk keuk! This has taken a nasty turn.”
Gunggi chuckled darkly as he looked at the spot where they had disappeared.
Then—
Shrrk!
Baek Sang-ah’s sword suddenly touched Gunggi’s neck.
“…What is the meaning of this?”
Gunggi tried to push the sword away with his fingers, but it wouldn’t budge as if fixed in place.
“Take it as it is.”
Without warning, Baek Sang-ah turned her hostility toward Gunggi and spoke coldly.
“You deliberately provoked them to create this situation, didn’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“So they’d be forced into such an extreme choice.”
Gunggi looked surprised for a moment but then chuckled.
“Kuhuhu… Yes. So what if I did?”
Gunggi had accurately pierced through their state of mind and drawn out their hostility.
Under different circumstances, it might have been praise-worthy.
“Of course it’s a problem.”
Baek Sang-ah’s eyes grew even colder.
“At a time when lulling them into complacency would’ve been the better move, you went and planted unnecessary enmity.”
One might argue it was meaningless once they were ensnared by the Spirit Ghost, but Baek Sang-ah thought differently.
What Gunggi had just done was akin to sabotaging a future that might not even have had the chance to unfold.
“Above all else, with your power, you should’ve been more than capable of helping us the moment we fell into their trap, no?”
But Gunggi had remained silent.
Even after So Cheon disrupted the enemy’s illusion with that strange power.
“You… do you truly intend to cooperate with us?”
“Of course!”
Gunggi nodded cheerfully.
“I admit I got a bit too enthusiastic and messed things up. But there won’t be a mistake like this next time.”
“……”
It was a statement I found impossible to trust.
No, how could anyone possibly believe such words after flipping the entire situation on its head?
“Heh heh heh, it seems you don’t trust me. Very well……”
To my surprise, something unexpected came from Gunggi’s mouth.
“I’ll take responsibility and kill Qilin myself. Would that be enough to calm your anger?”
Among the enemies, she was presumed to be one of those maintaining her original power almost completely.
Her demeanor softened a little.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course! I never tell lies.”
“…Fine, I’ll believe you this one last time.”
Only then did I finally suppress my rage and withdraw my sword.
“Lady. Why did you stop us from attacking at the last moment?”
“If we can’t win here, then it’s better to conceal our cards.”
“Cards?”
“They… or at least that man named Eungnyong, doesn’t seem to think much of the depth of our relationship.”
That was something clear from his attitude.
While he paid attention to So Cheon, who was a prominent figure in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he completely ignored me, the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance and someone close to So Cheon.
That woman Yeonggwi seemed to have noticed something, but apparently chose not to speak up.
Of course, what mattered here wasn’t the connection itself.
“There’s a high chance he didn’t witness the battle between us and Gunggi.”
“…!”
“Partly because his attention was likely on Young Master Jin and Lady Cheon’s duel, but also because our battle took place in the unique space of Six Paths Veil.”
“Hm…”
“An army? Tell them to bring a hundred thousand or a million, whatever they like.”
I snorted.
“If we don’t fight, that’s the end of it.”
“True.”
So Cheon gave a small laugh and affirmed my words.
Indeed, Eungnyong’s insight into our levels was impressive.
But he had overlooked So Cheon’s greatest strength.
Numbers alone could never capture So Cheon.
Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi
In an instant, So Cheon swung one arm and split open the space.
And through the gap leapt out the Crown Prince and his royal guards who had been hiding.
“Th-this can’t be…”
The Crown Prince looked utterly dumbfounded by what had just unfolded before his eyes.
Of course, as the instigator, it would have been impossible for him to understand all that had transpired.
But at the very least, he could clearly grasp that Eungnyong had been exercising military authority as he pleased and toying with the royal family.
And most of all—
“T-the Imperial Minister… wasn’t human?”
From Eungnyong’s temples sprouted antler-like horns, resembling those of a deer, just like Qilin.
Normally, he probably concealed them with illusion arts, but he must not have realized the Crown Prince’s group had been hiding nearby, and revealed his true form without thinking.
“W-why didn’t I…”
The dissonance shattered completely, and reality unveiled itself.
When his mind was subdued at the Murim Alliance, the brainwashing had practically been undone, but nothing was more effective than confronting reality head-on.
While the Crown Prince clutched his hair in confusion—
“Hah, indeed, you had that kind of talent.”
Gunggi looked intrigued as he watched So Cheon’s Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi.
“You may be able to avoid unnecessary conflict with human troops, but that method has its limits.”
“……Mmm.”
Even if Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi was useful for infiltration, it too had its limits.
The moment they set foot in the inner city, it would all come apart.
At that moment, while deep in thought, I lifted my head.
“So Cheon, Gunggi. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“The army approaching us now… is every single soldier fully brainwashed?”
At that, Gunggi immediately shook his head.
“Impossible.”
“The reason?”
Gunggi let out a disgruntled snort.
“I’ll admit I got played by that double-layered formation, but to influence people outside the city, beyond the domain? Their power’s far too weak. At most, they’ve probably turned a few key commanders into puppets.”
“In that case, would it be possible to negotiate with some of them to pull back?”
The Crown Prince was familiar with the military personnel.
Even if they were acting under imperial orders, if the Crown Prince personally approached and tried to persuade them, it might just work.
Gunggi’s expression turned immediately sour.
“Are you really trying to appeal to their humanity?”
“Well, that too, but…”
I didn’t bother denying his use of the word humanity.
Because it was true.
It was just that… something beyond that continued to bother me.
“They’re prepared to throw away everything they’ve invested so far to take us down. Which means they might very well…”
“Might very well?”
“…Might very well sacrifice the masses of humans gathered here… as offerings.”
“Oh?”
The reason Eungnyong chose not to finish things here and instead retreated.
Part of it was because his power was amplified at their main base, but the biggest reason had to be because he could use the people within the city as ‘fuel.’
It was exactly the same as what the former Four Atrocities member, Do’ol, had done when he took the Black Gold Sa Clan hostage.
“Kuh kuh kuh… I see. Indeed, that is quite possible.”
“…What’s so amusing about that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Those who once pretended to be so noble, now rolling in the same mud as us just to survive—it’s hilarious.”
They must have already suspected it to some extent.
But certainty was something else entirely.
“The fall of the Divine Beast. If only the other Four Atrocities bastards could see this.”
“……”
I turned my gaze away from Gunggi.
It seemed it would take him a while to come out of his own world.
“Your Highness.”
“…You don’t even need to say it. I know what I must do.”
The Crown Prince nodded.
Still, seeing that he wasn’t entertaining any stray thoughts even after coming this far, he was at least living up to his name.
“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure no outside forces set foot within the city.”
“Then, I leave it to you.”
How far the Crown Prince would succeed remained unknown, but for now, he was the only one we could rely on.
“From now on, we’ll plan our infiltration route. Fortunately, the Royal Guards possess a map of the city, so—”
“Lady, wait.”
Then, unlike before, it was So Cheon who stopped me this time.
“What is it?”
Seeming like he had something confidential to say, So Cheon led me away from the others to a distance.
I wondered if it was some important strategy, but what came from So Cheon’s mouth was something I hadn’t expected at all.
“Before we departed from Luoyang… Myeong mentioned a flaw we have.”
“A flaw, you say…”
My expression clouded.
Because the moment he mentioned flaws, it struck a nerve—I too had been feeling that gap keenly.
“Pure power.”
“……”
The King-Slaying Blade, which was a refined form of Ladyng’s will, was specialized in lethality, but not in sheer destructive power.
In fact, ever since the battle with Gunggi, it had been a concern I’d been wrestling with internally.
Death-type powers didn’t work as effectively on beings like spiritual beasts or demonic beasts, brimming with vitality.
Often, it was more efficient to overwhelm them with raw, primordial force.
“I am aware of that issue… but right now, I don’t see a solution—”
“There is one.”
“…?!”
So Cheon pulled something crumpled like a letter from inside his robes.
It wasn’t a letter exactly, but a paper densely inscribed with incantations.
“He said it should be possible for the current me and Lady.”
“…To do what?”
“You’ll understand once you read it.”
Puzzled, I took the paper and began reading.
And soon after, my eyes twisted in shock as I processed its contents.
“So Cheon. Th-this… don’t tell me…”
So Cheon nodded.
“This is the Heavenly Demonic Resonance Technique… and the incantations of the Underworld Net Sword that evolved from that resonance.”